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The Hampshire Cos. and CrownPoint Group will soon break ground on a 104-unit apartment complex in Harrison, joining the long-running effort to turn the town’s industrial waterfront into a rail-served urban community.The Morristown-based developers announced plans for the 122,000-square-foot project in a news release Monday. Construction for the complex, which will feature two four-story buildings on Bergen Street, is expected to begin sometime this quarter.

They will be among the latest New Jersey developers to commit to Harrison, which has long sought to redevelop 250 acres of mostly blighted industrial buildings. The area shares a border with Newark along the Passaic River and has its own rail stop on the PATH line to Manhattan, drawing longstanding interest from several builders.

And despite several delays over 15 years, the interest has translated into a handful of new projects and active construction. In recent years, some of the rundown warehouses have slowly been replaced by new residential and commercial complexes, visible from the PATH line.

The activity was due in large part to former Mayor Raymond McDonough who died suddenly in February after 20 years in office. He was widely credited as the visionary for the redevelopment effort.

In a prepared statement, Norman Feinstein of Hampshire said the company’s interest comes from the recent success of other projects and the $72 million upgrade of the PATH station, which was started last summer by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“After evaluating the positive activity within the waterfront and aligning ourselves with a joint venture partner that specializes in urban development, we felt that it was the right time to invest in the revitalization of Harrison by providing improved residential offerings to meet the needs of the town’s anticipated growth,” said Feinstein, a vice chairman with the firm.

Feinberg & Associates P.C., a Voorhees-based architecture firm, has designed the project. Plans call for a fitness center, a rooftop deck and other amenities, according to Hampshire’s news release.
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